Remnant of a Wizard
by Rothak
Summary: It's never good when you're pulled into another world. A wizard is anything if not resourceful. Well, usually anyway. Luckily for Harry, he is. However, how will he deal with all of the changes, a new school, discrimination, girls, and constant fights just to make a living? Let's find out. (Re-post of my previous work)
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I don't own any rights to the Harry Potter universe or RWBY.**

 **This is a re-post of part of a story that I had taken down due to some personal issues. That said, I'm going to be re-working a few things that need to be changed with more of Remnant revealed to us. So for those that have been asking about this story, it is coming back, just slowly.**

* * *

Harry stirred the potion as the instructions said to do so. He didn't really understand why Sirius was so adamant about learning to be an animagus. There also were books on Occlumancy and wandless magic. But then again, with the entire school ostracizing him, it wasn't like he didn't have the time to himself to learn and practice. Even after his performance in the first task, he was still shunned. There had even been talk about putting him on probation from Gryffindor. It was then that Harry knew he was truly on his own. He had shifted into survival mode, picking up spells and skills that he had neglected. Harry pricked his finger and allowed three drops of blood to fall. Once the potion turned red with blue smoke, Harry poured himself a cup. After drinking the sludge, he passed out. When he awoke, Harry grinned. He had an animagus form, but it shifted between a small cat and one the size of a horse. Interestingly enough, neither the potion, nor the process was intended to be used by a wizard with remnants of Basilisk venom and Phoenix tears in his system. But that is getting ahead of our story.

After taking the Triwizard Cup, Harry was tied to the tombstone watching the ritual. Part of him wondered what would have happened if he had taken the cup at the same time as anyone else and was glad he didn't. As the red drops fell into the cauldron, Harry decided to try to escape. For the first time, he willed himself into his cat form. Harry figured he really didn't have anything to lose. As the magic within the blood interacted with a rather delicate potion, it catalyzed the magic within the cauldron. This immediately destroyed Tom Riddle. The blast of magic traveled along the tenuous connections to the Horcruxes, thereby also destroying all of the evil wizard's anchors. Harry was knocked unconscious by the blast as his core was forced to absorb some of the magic, causing it to grow in size. The vortex that formed sliced Pettigrew in half. Because of his blood being the catalyst, a partially transformed Harry Potter was pulled through the silvery fire never to be seen in England again. Those sent to the graveyard to investigate the magical blast would find the Triwizard Cup, Harry's glasses, a bisected Peter Pettigrew and a cauldron that had been torn in half and a homunculus. There was also quite a bit of Dark Magic residue.

Once Harry fell through the fire, he awoke screaming. It felt like he was being pulled in multiple directions at once while at the same time being poked with white-hot needles on his scar. This spread to the rest of his body. It felt like what he imagined the cruciatus to be.

Harry was unceremoniously spat out in the dirt beneath a canopy of trees. Harry squeezed his eyes shut as the light filtering down kick-started a migraine. As the migraine progressed, Harry suddenly had knowledge of spells that he had never had before. It felt like each one was branded into his brain. There were so many that Harry couldn't begin to count them. He lay staring at nothing as knowledge of many different subjects seemed to pour into his brain. When this finished, Harry heard a small trickle of water and drug himself towards it. After quenching his thirst, Harry stared at his reflection. Black cat ears poked up through his hair. His eyes were still green, but had a slit pupil. As he inspected the changes, Harry discovered that he had a tail and his feet and hands had much thicker pads of skin.

A low growl was heard off to his right. Harry was shocked to see a bear unlike any he had ever seen. Its face held glowing red eyes and bony protrusions coming out of its back. The bear charged, but Harry jumped to avoid it and somersaulted high into the air. When he came down, it was on the back of this bear. Claws extended from his hands and feet allowing him to hold on. Needless to say, the boy was rather surprised at his new strength and additions.

After a few minutes of being tossed around, Harry decided that enough was enough. He had practiced various spells in preparation for the Tournament. Once he decided one, without warning, a white blast edged in green erupted from the palms of his hands. The bear, or whatever it was, dropped and blood began pouring out of it. Harry took a few steps away from the carcass and sighed. It might be the only food he would get for some time. Who knew how long it would take to get to civilization. Using a potions spell to separate the meat, skin, bones, and gizzards, the bear was dressed out in no time. There was an odd black substance that was pulled away and began to evaporate, causing a black haze to grow in the air before it was whisked away by the wind. After casting a spell to check for poisons, he found none. Harry started a small fire to cook the meat. There wasn't all that much on the animal. When it was cooked, he discovered that it was a sweet, peppery flavor. Harry climbed into a tree and fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Harry decided to try magic again. The bear's pelt turned out to be slightly resistant to magic. Eventually Harry was able to transfigure it into a large backpack. He placed the cooked meat in the pack and left to try to find civilization. He could see a tall cliff in the distance and Harry decided that he would try to get there. He was surprised that along the way, he encountered what he swore was a werewolf, but it was mid-day.

Harry jumped into the trees and used his new found strength and agility to beat a hasty retreat. Harry sat down once he had made his escape and decided on some lunch. For some reason he was much hungrier than usual.

Up at Beacon, Glynda Goodwitch frowned at a report. Apparently something had happened and over a large area of the Emerald Forest, the cameras were malfunctioning. She chose a team to look into the problem. Team WSPR had been acting up lately and a trip into the Emerald Forest would likely cool them down a bit and hopefully get them working together.

After a failed and rather painful attempt to change back into human, Harry took the time to take stock of his senses. They seemed to be elevated far beyond what they normally were. Then again, he was using magic without a wand, so he felt it was just a side effect of whatever happened.

He heard footsteps coming through the woods. Harry had no idea where he was and looking like a half-cat would not bode well. Once again Harry jumped into the canopy and hid.

Walking beneath him was a quartet of what had to be fighters. Harry raised an eyebrow. The weapons they carried looked unlike anything Harry had ever seen. One looked like a rifle with a sword grip on it.

While he understood what they were talking about, Harry was confused. Terms like Dust, Aura, Semblance were odd. One term, obviously derogatory, was faunus.

The four gave off airs similar to Malfoy and his cronies. Harry was surprised as the four boys described one girl who apparently had a pair of mouse ears. Harry blinked. Maybe he could blend in with at least part of the society here. But it begged the question. Where was he?

Suddenly one of the boys turned and fired. Harry twisted out of the way to land on all fours.

Before any of the teens could react, Harry darted away. They gave chase.

After dodging some attacks, Harry finally had enough and jumped and planted his feet in one of the teen's skulls. Another jump had them all in between him and the cliff.

Harry saw red as they insulted him. He threw his hands out and a massive Banishing Charm hit the four boys and sent them flying up into the air and onto the top of the cliff.

Before they landed, Harry grabbed his pack and leapt away from where he was. He noted several glints of light and saw them to be cameras of some kind. Harry disillusioned himself and changed direction once again.

When Harry made it to the base of the cliff, there were steps leading up. When he started to climb, he saw a rather severe looking woman being trailed by the four he had tossed into the air coming down the steps. Harry found a few handholds and eased himself off the steps and onto the cliff face.

Once they had passed, Harry took to the stairs once again. Harry saw buildings in the distance. When he went closer to the edge, he could see a town below.

Glynda was not happy. Team WSPR had said they had been attacked by a band of faunus. Reaching the base of the steps, Glynda slid back a panel and blinked. A large amount of cameras were offline. She plugged in to watch footage and was shocked when one cat faunus took out an entire second year combat team.

She frowned as Team WSPR just attacked and didn't try to talk with the young cat faunus. She would show the footage to Ozpin. The faunus used Aura in a rather unique way. Or it was a Semblance? Either way, Ozpin would want to know.

Harry slipped onto a rather odd ship that looked like something out of a comic book. Wherever that portal had taken him, he wasn't anywhere that he knew of. The craft descended to the city below. Harry felt that he might be able to get a read on what was going on.

As Harry invisibly wandered the city, he was shocked. This was unlike anything he had seen before.

As he went down an alley, he saw a trio of men kicking a prone figure. Red fox ears peeked out from the figure's hair.

Harry blindsided the men. A few stunners had the men down and out.

Harry turned to the curled figure. It was a man with fox ears. He was beaten and bloody. Harry helped the man up.

"Are you okay sir?"

The man looked at Harry. "I've never seen a faunus like you before."

Harry shrugged. "I've always been different."

The man looked at the unconscious figures, he sighed. "It will only be worse when they wake up. They will think I did something to them."

Harry thought for a moment. A silver beam hit each man in the head. "They won't even remember it. They'll think they got drunk and passed out."

The man's eyes widened. "These are Boggis, Bunce and Bean. They are trying to drive me out of business. My store is the only one that caters mostly to faunus. They want nothing but to drive us all out of Vale. As it is, most of us have considered leaving. I know most of the faunus in Vale, but I haven't met you." The man looked at Harry quizzically. "And yet a young one like you took out three adults." He considered things for a moment. "My name is Mr. Red Vulpes. And you are?"

Harry shrugged, "Someone who is a little lost."

The man nodded. "I would like to thank you for helping me. If you want to follow me, I need to find a place to buy food for tonight. My wife is an excellent cook. You are welcome to join us." The man left it unsaid that his wife wouldn't let the teen leave without eating if he had run away from somewhere.

Harry stopped the older man. "I have a rather large amount in my pack. You are welcome to it if you can answer a few questions for me."

The man smiled and saw the full pack. When Harry opened it, sure enough, a large collection of meat met the man's gaze.

Red smiled. "You can stay all week if you like."

Harry was taken to a home that on the outside looked a little run down, but upon entering it, was cozy and well furnished. Red smiled. "If they think we live in poor conditions, they feel better about themselves."

Harry nodded. When all of the meat was removed, Harry's transfiguration of the pelt reverted and the pack became a pelt once again.

Mr. Vulpes prodded the large fur with one toe. "What is that?"

Harry shrugged, "Something that attacked me. I needed something to carry the meat."

When the faunus spread out the pelt he blinked. "You killed an Ursa?"

Harry blinked. "Yeah. Is that bad?"

Red blinked. "No. Young one, do you not know what the Creatures of Grimm are?"

Harry shook his head. "They don't have anything like that back home. But then again, I doubt I'll be able to return there anyway. It was kind of a one-way trip."

This shocked the man. The Grimm were all over Remnant. "You could sell that pelt for quite a bit of Lien. The spikes are useful in certain forging applications."

Harry shrugged. "Why don't you sell it for me? You said you had a shop."

Any further conversation was cut off when the lady of the house called everyone to supper.

Harry was asked several questions by Mrs. Vulpes and her children. The oldest boy had enrolled in Signal Academy. He wanted to be a Huntsman.

Due to the talkative nature of the boy, Harry began to absorb some of the local knowledge. Faunus were discriminated against, sometimes rather severely. Mr. Vulpes actually had been denied from taking the Huntsman exam because of it. Aura was apparently energy coming from one's soul. It could be used as a defense or an attack. It didn't sound as versatile as magic, but in some ways was more beneficial. Everyone could use it. Dust was a substance with widely varying properties. It was an energy source as well as a catalyst for some of the attacks that the four teens had thrown at him in the woods.

Harry now knew that if he was still on earth, it was a place no one had ever been. When he looked out the window, it confirmed that he wasn't. There were two moons in the sky. One looked like it had been shattered.

Harry just stared at the sky for a time. Everything he knew, everyone he knew, was gone. Harry was barely holding himself together.

Red caught Harry as his knees gave way. After telling his wife he would look after the teen, the man shook his head. From what he could glean from what little the teen had said, he had woken up in the Emerald Forest after being kidnapped. While no one knew of this Great Britain, it also wasn't on the map they had shown the teen. It must have hit him that he was well and truly lost.

When the concerned faunus went back to his wife she fretted about the unfortunate boy. She also told her husband that he would be welcome to stay as long as he wanted.

Harry took the kind offer and learned as much as he could. He learned of the various Grimm, and how strong they were. Harry actually had his Aura unlocked by Red. After a few weeks, Harry decided to return to the Emerald Forest to see if he could find any clues or see if he could find a way home. The Ursa pelt was actually was worth a decent amount. Apparently Ursa skin rugs were rather popular. It allowed Red to get Harry some new clothes as well as some gear if he was intent on going back into the Emerald Forest.

In return, Harry used his knowledge to put up an aversion ward to anyone meaning harm to the residents of the home he was in. It prevented quite a bit of trouble, for which the family was very grateful.

Professor Ozpin looked over the footage that Glynda had managed to put together. A faunus with more animalistic features than any of the others he had met had used either Aura or a Semblance to throw a quartet of students from the forest to the top of the Initiation Cliff. Any further searches of the forest had come up empty. Ozpin's eyebrows rose as he found a feed Glynda had missed. One camera had seen something very interesting. The teen simply faded from view. Ozpin grinned. If he could talk to this mystery faunus, Beacon might have a new student, or at maybe even an apprentice to one of the teachers.

Harry didn't trust himself enough to apparate so he made his way back through town. This time, as he was properly attired, other than a few glares at his ears and tail, no one bothered him. Harry disillusioned himself and jumped aboard the transport back to the building that was set atop the cliff. Harry had learned the name. Beacon. It was a school for training elite Huntsmen and Huntresses. Harry had decided to investigate it if he couldn't find a way home.

After a few hours of searching, Harry found where he had landed. He only found the shattered pieces to his wand. Harry slipped them into his pack.

As Harry sat, he pondered his options. He could stay with the Vulpes family, he could investigate Beacon, or he could… A snort and a pair of angry red eyes broke him out of his thoughts. A Boarbatusk was pawing the ground and was ready to attack. Harry moved out of the way at the last second and it rolled into the tree. A simple piercing curse ended its existence. Once again Harry separated out the various parts. Harry grinned. He could be a Huntsman. Certain parts of Grimm were useful, but most Hunters didn't leave enough intact to be useful. Normally one dust round wasn't enough to take down a Grimm. This time as he made his way back to the cliff, Harry decided that he would live in the forest, investigating Beacon when classes were in session, and getting Grimm parts for Red to sell. From what he heard, faunus were usually overcharged for certain things. This was one of them. However, when they found out that Harry had a way of making the Grimm meat edible they were shocked. Normally it took weeks and special processes for the toxins to drain out, and as such the meat was very expensive. Most people didn't bother with it except to impress someone. Red had agreed to keep Harry's assistance a secret and the faunus of Vale were benefitting from Harry's efforts, so everyone won.

As Harry walked back to the cliff, he encountered two other Grimm that he dispatched in a similar manner. He disillusioned himself when he reached the stairs. He also forgot completely about the cameras.

Ozpin was shocked. The cameras had registered movement, and alerted him. A single blast of aura and moderately powerful Gimm were done in. He then witnessed them be ripped apart and the faunus packed away the useful parts and left the forest.

Ozpin ran to steps with Glynda on his heels. They were empty. A quick trip to the site of the attacks confirmed things for him. They had a very interesting visitor.

Harry had to dodge the rather severe faced woman and another man on his way back up the stairs. He almost smacked himself. He had forgotten about the cameras. Harry dropped his load off with Red and then returned. This time he was disillusioned. Harry sat in the grass at the top of the cliff and decided to try something he had decided on. If he couldn't turn back into human, maybe he would be able to go from his current state to a cat.

Harry grinned as it worked. He was a standard sized housecat. He lost control in his glee and reverted. When he tried a second time, he was a very large cat. He was easily the size of a large horse. When Harry reverted to his now normal form he grinned. With practice he should be able to go between the two.

* * *

As time passed, Ozpin became increasingly intrigued and frustrated. There was evidence of the faunus throughout the forest, but only a rare glimpse was caught on camera. He had even taken the relics for this year's initiation. Granted, they were just large gold and silver playing cards, but they had turned up in all places, a pawn shop. They drew lots for teams this year. The fact that the embarrassment made it into the Vale papers was not an issue in Ozpin's mind. All of the professors had now been informed of the presence of the faunus and would keep an eye out for any further interference. One of them had even given the teen a name that fit. Cheshire. A cat of legend that would disappear and reappear as he saw fit.

Ozpin was sitting at a table he had placed at the top of the stairs drinking his tea. He was determined to speak to this faunus. Ozpin had sat most of the day and saw nothing. There wasn't even the sound of a footstep on the stone stairs.

His attention was drawn to the grass moving slightly. A small black cat was slinking through the grass. The animal froze when it saw him. Ozpin put down a saucer of milk and smiled. It was a stray cat that had been seen by some of the professors. It didn't cause any trouble and seemed to watch whatever was going on at the time. For some reason it usually hung around the sparring fields. A few professors had even seen it sunning itself outside their classroom windows. A few female students always tried to catch it, but they never succeeded. The man stood and left. He would pick up the saucer tomorrow. The cat was very skittish, but harmless.

Ozpin shook his head. It looks like his vigil would have to continue tomorrow.

Every day Ozpin would sit at the stairs, waiting. It got to the point that Ozpin had a small veranda built. Sometimes he saw the cat, sometimes he didn't. Every once in a while he caught a sign of the faunus. Eventually Glynda would drag him back to work. She pointed something out. The faunus was taking the valuable Grimm parts. He had to be selling them somewhere.

Ozpin tried tracking down the source of these items but to no avail. None of the shop owners knew what he was talking about. Ozpin even made sure to ask the faunus shopkeepers. No one had seen or heard anything. Of course, in talking to Qrow at Signal and a few of the other academies, many faunus students from Vale had things like Ursa spines, Beowolf fangs, and Borabotusk tusks to help forge armor and weapons. This hadn't happened before. They also seemed to have insights into battle tactics against Grimm that were impressive.

This continued for well over three years. Cheshire had become something of an urban myth. The faunus of Vale closed ranks and said nothing. It was the humans who were speculating. Given the fact that there had been rumors of the cat stopping attacks on faunus, it was the humans who were the most curious. No one really remembered the encounters. A few eyewitnesses said that a male faunus with cat ears and tail stopped the perpetrators, performed some kind of Aura technique and disappeared. The attackers had awoken drunk and unable to remember the fights.

* * *

Ozpin sat at the table and huffed. Was this vigil really worth it? They now had to have professors have the relics in a bag. Last year they had disappeared when Professor Port turned away for a brief second. As Ozpin put down a saucer for the stray that called the grounds of Beacon home, he looked over the roster of new students and grinned. There were going to be quite a few talented people. Ruby Rose had potential. If Qrow had taught her that much, she must be good. A fox faunus was also rather gifted. His father had gone through Beacon as well. Ozpin hoped that the discrimination of other students wouldn't be too bad this year. He tried to put a stop to it whenever he could, but he couldn't be everywhere.

The stray cat was sniffing at the saucer. Even after all this time, no one could catch it. It was still as skittish as ever.

Ozpin mused out loud as he watched the cat. "If only finding this Cheshire was as easy as giving you milk. I just want him to not steal the chess pieces that I'm going to put out there in the Forest for this year's imitation. Is that too much to ask?" Ozpin shook his head. "We have a new crop of students that are likely going to try to catch you. A warning. One girl is exceptionally fast. You'll need to keep an eye on her. She wears a red cape."

Ozpin chuckled as the cat ran off.

Harry was pensive as he used his cat form to slip down the steps. The past two times he had taken the gold and silver items he didn't know what they were for. One year, he sold them to help a rather ill faunus from losing her home. The next, a young ram faunus wanted to start at Signal. He couldn't afford the entry fees. He was now on a scholarship. He would leave the chess pieces alone. Ozpin was an interesting man. He seemed to always want to catch Harry. The teen couldn't allow that. You never knew the man's true desires, but Harry was considering talking to the man. Maybe he would throw the man a bone.

Harry thought back over the past three years. He had come to see the Emerald Forest as much as home as the guest room at the Vulpes residence. Argent, Red's oldest, had applied to Beacon and had been accepted. His animagus forms were still secret, even from other faunus. One of the members of the White Fang had approached Harry last year asking him if he would join them. Harry declined. He would rather help people than fight.

With a lot of the instigators of fights now seen as drunkards, most of the normal populace was unwilling to antagonize the faunus of Vale. There were even Quite a few friendships that had cropped up between humans and faunus.

Harry waved his hand as he jumped down the steps. He could have apparated, but jumping down them was so much more fun.

Ozpin was about to turn to head in when a scrap of paper floated in front of his face. The grey-haired man caught it.

The note read: 'Dear Professor Ozpin, I was unaware that those items were for Beacon's initiation. I apologize for taking them; however, the money gained from their sale was donated to some truly noble causes. If you're wondering, a young man who wanted to go to school can now afford to, and a hardworking mother didn't lose her house. You also have been sitting here for some time trying to catch me. I don't know why, you really haven't said. Or if you did, I never heard you in the time it takes to sneak past you. As a show of good faith, the chess pieces will be left alone. Once I can confirm you have nothing against me, maybe we can talk later.' The signature was of a smiling cat. Once the man finished reading it the paper disappeared.

Ozpin blinked. He then shook his head. Cheshire was able to get past him. Again. The Beacon Stray also never even registered the teen's presence during the brief encounter. That was almost equally as impressive. Ozpin definitely wanted to get the boy as a student. But he doubted it would be easy.

Harry curled up in a treehouse that he had built and warded against the Grimm. There was also a small cache of Dust Crystals that he had found in the forest. He had to shake his head at Mrs. Vulpes' actions earlier in the week. She was asking him again when he was going to settle down. He had a substantial savings and would be able to afford his own house. That is, if the realtors wouldn't hike up the prices because of his cat features.

The next morning, Harry had found evidence of a large Nevermore. Its feathers were extremely useful. However, the bird was proving to be elusive.

* * *

As Ozpin walked along the line of assembled students, he showed a few pictures of Cheshire. "Normally I would say that you need to destroy anything that stands in your way. I would like to issue a change to that rule. Many of you from Vale have probably heard rumors of a faunus known as Cheshire. Let me tell you the truth of those rumors. He exists. These are photos we have of him. A word of caution to you all. He is known to frequent these woods. He hasn't harmed anyone, however the number of Grimm in the woods have decreased because of him. He also took the initiation relics from the past two years making team assignments difficult. I did receive a note from him stating that he was unaware of their purpose and would leave them alone this year. He is highly skilled. He even can sneak past me. We only see evidence of his fights. He won't bother any student unless they bother him first. In fact over a year ago, he saved one team that had been ambushed by a herd of Boarbatusks. Every year we have a team that decides to try to catch him. Don't. The first negative encounter with him had the team flung from the forest floor all the way to the top of this cliff. The next had them hung on the spire of the main building in their underwear. Last year, one team was rather discriminatory in their words and actions about this elusive faunus. When they went to catch him, Miss Goodwitch found them trussed up in her shower. Naked. However, should one of you encounter him, please pass along a message that I wish to speak with him and he may choose the place and time."

Argent had to grin slightly. He knew Harry had a reputation, but that was hilarious.

Harry saw some shadows pass overhead. It looked like the fun was getting started. Just for kicks, Harry ended the spell that he had active almost every moment he was in the forest. Harry waved at the camera before disappearing once again.

Harry headed back towards his forest home and a pack of Beowolves was between him and his retreat. A white haired girl was shifting slightly, getting ready for and attack. Harry hit the largest Beowolf with a piercing spell, causing it to topple. The attention of the pack turned to Harry who had ended the masking spell. The white haired girl used the opening to send a jet of flame at one of the Grimm. She had to divert it due to a girl in a red cape with a massive scythe slashing at the same target.

The blast of flame had set the tree containing his treehouse burning. Harry screamed out, "You lit my house on fire!" Harry immediately summoned all of his gear that was in the treehouse. He tried to anyway. It looked like the Burn Crystal he found was detonated before it was wrapped in his magic. Why else would the tree catch fire that fast? He didn't lose much, but still, he didn't have all that much to begin with.

Ruby and Weiss turned and saw fleeing forms of Beowolves and a rather irate cat faunus.

When she heard a scream; Weiss blinked, then paled. Ozpin had said to not antagonize him. "You're the faunus Professor Ozpin warned us about!"

Harry glared at the girl and pointed at the fallen, burning tree. He growled out, "You burned down my house!"

Ruby grabbed her new partner and took off running.

When they stopped a good distance away, Weiss began to berate Ruby, but the younger girl was shaken up.

After quickly rendering the Beowolf he took down, Harry stuffed all of his things into a pack and began jumping through the trees. He knew where the girl was headed and he would be having words with her. Harry stopped to look down at a pretty blonde girl who was staring at a single hair that was fallen to the ground.

He was surprised to see the girl's eyes turn red. He was astonished at the severity of the girl's attacks. Harry noted to not even touch her hair. There was a pleasant odor in the air as she ran past him.

When she turned to face down the other Ursa, Harry had to smile at the look on her face as it fell. When the figure behind the bear stood still, Harry's eyes widened. The next thing he knew he was standing behind the girl. Harry took a deep breath. This girl, whoever she was, smelled amazing. The scent was different than the first one, but something about it was better.

Blake froze as a presence registered behind her. She noticed Yang take a defensive stance. She heard a deep intake of breath, something nuzzling her head right behind her bow, and a light baritone voice murmured, "You smell wonderful."

Blake whirled around and came face to face with Cheshire. His deep green eyes were looking at her and his tail was flicking lazily. Black cat ears rose from a messy head of hair.

It took Blake a moment to speak. Even with all of her time in the White Fang, she had never seen a faunus like this. The only things that had been said by the faunus population of Vale was that he helped them all. Nothing had been said about his looks. She had thought that the pictures that Professor Ozpin had shown were just exaggerated, but no, the teen did really look like that. "Um, thanks?"

This caused Harry to shake himself out of his trance. "So what brings two lovely ladies to my home?"

Yang relaxed slightly. "Today is our initiation at Beacon."

Harry shook his head. "I'm headed to where the trinkets are kept, would you like me to show you the way?"

The two girls looked at each other then back at their unexpected visitor. Blake nodded. "Sure. You aren't going to steal them are you?"

Harry shook his head. "Nope, but the white haired twit who burned down my house is going to get a talking to. She's likely headed in that direction. I'll let her come to me."

This caused the two girls to gulp. There was only one person that they knew who had white hair.

Yang spoke up, "Ozpin said at the top of the cliff he wants to talk to you."

Harry shrugged. "I was planning on speaking with him at some point. For the past three years he tried to catch me coming and going from the forest. He hasn't succeeded." Harry's smirk caused the girls to relax a little. "Shall we go?"

The girls were shocked to find themselves seconds later walking next to the teen, arms looped through his. Neither of the girls could remember how they got that way.

Harry grinned. "So, tell me what you like about Beacon. And why the Headmaster wants to see me."

Ozpin watched, shocked as Cheshire stuffed more into a pack than he had thought possible. He also saw the teen's anger at the Schnee Heiress. That would not bode well.

He watched as the teen made his way through the canopy and stopped to watch a fight. Ozpin's eyebrows rose when the teen flirted with the black haired girl, Miss Belladonna. That was new.

Ozpin checked the video feed. A few pairs had already retrieved their chess piece. He was glad that Cheshire hadn't taken them. Those were expensive.

After the girls had introduced themselves, Blake looked at Cheshire. "I've met a lot of faunus, but I've never met one like you before."

Harry grinned. "You probably won't ever again. I'm one of a kind."

As they cleared the tree line, they looked down on the ruins that Ozpin used to place the relics.

Harry jumped off the outcropping. "Pick your prize ladies. I'm going to wait for the firebug."

Harry had to chuckle as the two girls selected the knight piece. Yang looked at their guide. "Why don't you live in town?"

Harry shook his head. "Faunus aren't exactly respected, even in a moderately tolerant place like Vale. And I don't look like your average faunus. Besides, I like the forest. Since I came here I have seen that I am gifted in hunting the Grimm. A lot of faunus benefit from what I do."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Are you part of the White Fang?"

Harry shook his head. "No. They asked me to join a year ago, but I don't like their methods and declined. The Grimm that I hunt, I harvest what is left. If you incorporate things like Ursa or Beowolf spines into the forging of a weapon, it can be more resilient. A Grimm mask makes a shield or armor stronger. Because Dust and Aura react to Grimm, it helps with infusing the Dust into the weapons. The better quality you have, the better the infusion. There are lots of uses." Harry looked at Blake. "I would venture a guess that the ribbon holding onto your weapon has King Taijitu leather in it for flexibility and strength. Many faunus can't afford these because of discriminatory pricing. I provide an alternate supply at reasonable prices."

Yang nodded. "At Signal, we forged our own weapons. Was that what the white powder we had to buy was? I know it wasn't Dust."

Harry nodded. "Not only that but some meat used in high-end cuisine is actually Ursa or Boarbatusk. There is a process to remove the ichor that is part of all Grimm. I get it done faster."

This caused Blake to blink in shock.

A scream pierced the air.

Yang shouted, "Some girl is in trouble."

Harry and Blake looked skyward. Harry's eyes narrowed as the girl in the red cloak came falling from the sky. He didn't see Yang's eyes widening as she saw her sister. Harry went to catch her, but a blonde boy collided mid-air with her and the pair landed in a tree.

Blake looked at Yang. "Did your sister just fall from the sky?"

Harry looked at Yang. "That's your sister?"

Yang blinked, "I…"

A growl across the meadow cut her off. Harry watched as a pink corona of energy flared around an Ursa. A voice yelled out "Yeehaw!" When it collapsed Harry noted a girl with orange hair on her head take a tumble before standing on the fallen Ursa. "Aww, I broke it."

She pulled a weapon and aimed it at Harry. When he made no move to attack, she then darted over and inspected a rook for a moment before dancing around with it. When her teammate called her, she skipped away.

Blake stuttered, "Did she just ride in on an Ursa?"

Harry shrugged, "What? It's fun."

Both girls looked at the boy in disbelief.

Ruby jumped from the trees to greet her sister. When Nora piped in, Ruby pointed at Harry. "Are you still mad at me?"

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Slightly. If you had spoken with your teammate before attacking, my house wouldn't be cinders. The other girl you were with, definitely. She's the one who torched it."

Ruby looked down, "I'm sorry. It was an accident. I don't really have any Lien or I'd help you rebuild."

Before anyone could say anything, an armor clad girl ran from a Death Stalker. Harry's eyes widened. The armor plates on those were worth a lot of money. Yang's outburst distracted Harry. As the flames danced around the girl, Harry mused that the blonde's Semblance was likely fire related.

Harry noted that the boy with pink eyes and the girl with an extremely short attention span now stood with the group. Harry was staring upwards. The Nevermore that he had spotted was flying around. Harry grinned. A Nevermore and a Death Stalker. Today was his lucky day.

When everyone commented on Weiss falling, Harry added, "I hope she breaks her leg."

He had to wince at the cracking sounds it made when she landed on the blonde boy.

When the redhead landed in a heap at the feet of everyone, Harry tried to stop the girl with the cape as she dashed towards the scorpion. Harry followed after. When Ruby turned away from the Death Stalker, Harry stopped and stared at the approaching Nevermore.

Yang passed him, intent on only her sister.

As the Nevermore flared its wings, Harry gathered his Aura. His body shone in blue and purple. Ruby cowered, but the feathers of the Nevermore hung in mid-air before reversing their direction and hitting the giant bird, causing it to veer away. The feathers then floated to the ground.

Everyone was in shock. Harry jumped high in the air and launched several immobilizing spells at the Death Stalker. He even managed to remove a pair of legs. This only made it madder. It was frozen in place as the group gathered at the temple site. Instead of finishing it off, he turned to face the girl who had destroyed his home.

Harry glared at the white haired girl. She glared back in return. "You owe me a new house."

Weiss huffed. "I'll buy you a cat bed."

Harry narrowed his eyes.

Blake didn't look too happy either.

Harry grinned. "Fine. I was going to take care of the Death Stalker and then maybe help you take down the Nevermore. Now I won't. I would get a move on if I were you. What I did is going to wear off soon."

Harry faded from view. This caused gasps from everyone.

Both teams berated Weiss for her rudeness. Ruby calmed everyone down and told everyone to grab a piece and get moving. The Death Stalker was twitching.

Ruby grabbed a knight, and Jaune grabbed a rook. They took off running as the Nevermore circled back around.

Harry watched them leave. Once the Death Stalked had moved past where he was standing, Harry sighed. They likely would get hurt if they could win at all. Harry grumbled as he debated for a moment. Even after all this time, Hermione was right. He had a thing about saving people.

When he caught up, Harry saw Nora blasting the Nevermore with grenades.

When the Death Stalker was stopped at the bridge, Harry assessed the situation. He frowned when the bird took out the bridge, separating the group.

When Nora blasted Jaune and herself over to join in the fight, Blake was knocked off the bridge and her weapon was thrown from her grip. Blake was in shock as she was floating in midair and the two parts to Gambol Shroud found their way into her hands. She noted that the colors surrounding both her and her weapon were the same as Cheshire when using his Semblance. She was then thrown upwards towards the Nevermore. As she tried to slice it, she found that the feathers were too tough.

Harry hit the Death Stalker with another impedimentia jinx to slow it down.

As the Nevermore crashed into the tower, Harry was able to freeze the debris long enough for the girls to get to safety.

It was at this point the Death Stalker loosened the footing of the bridge. A blue and purple glow surrounded the Death Stalker and it fell to the ground, twitching. The team used Jaune's sword and drove it between the armor plates, ending the scorpion.

Harry hit it with the spell to render it and watched the girls. He unconsciously apparated over to the central circle as Yang was blasting the bird in its mouth. The girls faltered when the ice broke, but the bird started screaming as it glowed blue and purple and was now stuck to the wall.

Ruby glanced over her shoulder and saw Cheshire holding the Nevermore in place.

She launched herself towards the immobile bird. As she ran up the cliff, the head separated from the rest of the body of the Nevermore.

Ozpin watched the action with an expression of interest. Cheshire had successfully helped both teams. Had the interaction between Miss Schnee gone better, he may have done more. Ozpin was curious about the faunus' Semblance. It wasn't one he knew of or had seen before.

Blake turned to Harry. "Why did you help us?"

Harry shrugged. "Just because snow princess there is an idiot doesn't mean everyone should be hurt. Those Grimm are dangerous."

On an impulse, Blake hugged the faunus. She whispered, "Thank you for saving me."

At her closeness, the smell overcame Harry once again. He returned the hug and murmured again. "You smell nice."

Harry made his way to the fallen body of the Nevermore. After he collected what was usable, Harry apparated his recent acquisitions to the underground room of Red's shop. He would discuss his price with Red later.

Harry apparated once again to Beacon. He shifted into his cat form and ran towards the hall where team announcements would be made. When everything was done, Harry was going to make his way to talk to Ozpin when a pair of hands was suddenly wrapped around him. Harry was shocked. No one was even close to him.

Ruby held a black cat up in the air. "Aren't you adorable! Who brought a kitty?"

Some of the upper year students were shocked that someone had caught what many students termed the Beacon Stray.

Harry laid his ears back and hissed. A claw-less bat at Ruby's nose had him free and Harry ran around a corner and hid before becoming invisible.

Some of the students were telling team RWBY about the cat. They were also asking Ruby how she managed to pick it up. It was rumored that since the cat watched battle training, it knew how to avoid people when they used Aura.

Harry went to Ozpin's quarters. He changed back from his housecat form and knocked. Ozpin opened the door and was shocked. His quarry for the past three years was right in front of him.

"I heard you wanted to speak with me?"

Ozpin nodded. "Would you like to come in?"

Harry shook his head. "Professor Goodwitch is likely in there discussing class schedules and she isn't happy with me since my stunt with Team MPLE. If not she will be here soon. I wanted to let you know that I got your message and I was planning on meeting with you at the cliffs overlooking the Emerald Forest tomorrow after class starts. Any traps or ticks and you will never see me again."

Harry disillusioned himself and walked away.

Ozpin heard steps echo oddly down the hall. He leaned against the door. Finally! Now what to say to the faunus?

Harry had overheard Team RWBY talking about their dorm assignment.

He decided to pester the girl again.

He sat on the windowsill looking at the sky. The window was open and he heard the girls come in.

As the girls were walking towards their assigned rooms, Weiss turned to Blake. "Why did you hug that riffraff?"

Blake raised an eyebrow. "That 'riffraff' saved my life. He made it so both us and Team JNPR could win. Excuse me for expressing a little gratitude."

Yang nudged the quiet girl. "You sure? He did seem to like you. He was rather good looking. Part of me wanted him smelling my hair too."

Blake had nothing to say in response.

Weiss was the first in the room. "I'm taking this bed. I need my beauty sleep."

A voice echoed from the open window. "Don't you mean _I_ get that bed? After all you did burn down my house. It wasn't much, but it was mine and no one bothered me. Besides, you would need to sleep for almost a week straight for it to do any good."

The girls were in shock as Cheshire slid through the open window.

Weiss pointed at the faunus. "You!"

Harry put his hand on his chest. "Me!"

Ruby asked, "Why are you here?"

Harry smirked and leaned against the bookshelf and glared at Weiss. "You owe me a place to live. I figure you can sleep on the floor like the animal you are. After all, what kind of person burns another's home to the ground and doesn't even apologize? You even insulted me afterwards." Harry mused, "Then again you are a Schnee. I've heard some disturbing things about your family's company. I guess the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree."

A smirking Yang pushed Blake forward. "You could share Blake's bed." This caused both faunus to blush.

Weiss huffed. "What are you doing in here? We could have been changing."

"I told you why I'm here, or weren't you listening?" Harry looked the girl up and down "Besides, if you were changing, I've seen better. You don't have much to see anyway."

As Weiss' face grew increasingly red and angry, Harry looked at Ruby. "I'll forgive you because you apologized at the first chance you got. Your teammate is another matter." Harry turned to Weiss. "I'll let you have your bed tonight. By tomorrow you'd better have other plans."

Harry winked at Ruby, Yang, and Blake. "Good evening ladies." He jumped out the window.

* * *

Harry soon found himself at the Vulpes residence. Red was in shock when Harry made his appearance. "Harry?! Do you know how much we can sell those for? Not only that, but one plate of the Death Stalker can help easily twenty students make armor. Of course if anyone else wants to buy some, we'll charge regular price." Red smiled. "In fact, I think I'll make some for you."

Harry tried to wave off the offer, but Red was insistent. The fox's reasoning was that Harry had faced down quite a few Grimm, but there were things far nastier than Beowolves and Ursa. Armor would be helpful if he took a hit. Which he had taken plenty of in the past.

Red also said that a lot of faunus were worried that Harry didn't have any armor when he hunted. The people who knew him all liked him. A few people had discussed the idea with Red and had slowly gathered the necessary materials. Red was planning to do it, but with the Death Stalker and the Nevermore materials available, Red had the opportunity to make a rather nice set of armor for his business partner. Red was gifted in forging. Considering Harry's contributions to the local community, a lot of faunus had a better future on the horizon. Thanks to Harry's bizarre Aura techniques, there was no more vandalism on their homes. That alone was peace of mind Lien couldn't buy. Quite a few locals had left the White Fang because of him.

Red watched as his wife fussed over the teen and smiled. Harry was meeting with Ozpin tomorrow, things would likely change. Harry had a good head on his shoulders. The Vulpes family was the only ones who knew that Harry wasn't from Vale. In fact once Harry learned what the Professors at Beacon called him he adopted that moniker when dealing with anyone else. Red knew that Harry was still keeping something for even them, but it was painful enough that he didn't speak of it. Red didn't push. It wasn't his place. He saw Harry like an adopted son.

Harry fell asleep looking at the ceiling. Who knew what would happen when he spoke with Ozpin tomorrow?

 **AN: As I said, this is a re-post. For those readers who have issue with the 'harvesting' of Grimm parts, this was written before it was mentioned that they dissolved after they died. It also is an important part in the beginning of the story. As such, I can't change it without completely re-writing everything. The black liquid that evaporates is what causes that in this story. I hope that Monty Oum wouldn't have minded that slight change to his universe. If that bothers you, please don't read any further.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Not my intellectual property.**

* * *

After a quick breakfast and Red taking measurements for Harry's armor, Harry made his way to Beacon. Classes wouldn't start for another thirty minutes. Once again Harry sat on the windowsill to the girl's room. He heard the girls organizing their room and talking about bunk beds.

Weiss was frustrated that she was outvoted. After the girls could bunk the beds, laughter rang out. Weiss grit her teeth. That irritating faunus was back.

"I voted for bunk beds. Snow princess there doesn't get a say."

The girls watched the mended curtain be pushed aside and the green eyed catboy jumped into the room.

"Good morning ladies. I must say, you make the uniforms look good."

Yang fired back, "I can make anything look good."

Harry chuckled and turned to the fuming girl. "So Miss Schnee, have you decided yet? If you want, I'll bring in some straw and blankets for you to bed down on. I'm not a monster."

Weiss erupted. "Listen you annoying faunus, it was an accident. You will not take my bed and I will not apologize. You are acting just like the scum of the White Fang! Expecting things to be given to you just because you're different."

Harry narrowed his eyes. "First off, I'm not like them. If I was, I would kidnap you and demand ransom money by sending one of your fingers to your father. Once I got it, I would drop you off outside of an Ursa den without a weapon." This caused the girls to pale. "They asked me to join and I turned them down. That would be why you still have all of your fingers and are still at the school. Second, what part of 'you burned down my home' was misunderstood? Or is it because I have cat features, that obviously means I must be less important and not have actual feelings? Granted it wasn't much, but I built it and it was mine. Even a human would want some sort of payment for that. How is that acting different? Should I thank you for gracing my abode with fire and ask you to do it again? Quite frankly you're the one acting all high and mighty." The tirade had shut the white haired girl up.

Harry took a moment to breathe. "Very well. I will be back after dinner for your answer Schnee. You'd better have a convincing one."

Harry's tone changed as he addressed the other three. "Professor Port is your fist class today. The man may seem to be full of himself with his stories; but he is very gifted with hunting Grimm. He is an Elite Hunter after all. He has surprising depth, even if his jokes are horrible. Make sure to pay attention for his hidden messages. Class is at nine." With this he jumped out the window.

Weiss looked at her clock. "We have class in five minutes." The quartet as well as Team JNPR all took off headed for the classroom. In his cat form, Harry watched as the two teams sprinted to class. Port usually started with a story about never giving up, no matter the odds. The man also had a few caged Grimm that he had collected. They were all low level, so any of the competent first years could handle them.

* * *

Harry found Ozpin a few moments later and listened in on the conversation.

Glynda spoke up once the teams had passed. "Is it wise to meet with Cheshire alone?"

Ozpin nodded. "I don't foresee any problems. Even if he wanted to attack me, I can defend myself Glynda. For three years I have wanted a chance to talk with the young man who had single-handedly dropped the Grimm population in the Emerald Forest by easily ten percent. You have to admit, that the faunus in the past three years of classes all have better weapons. No one will say anything, but I think that he is selling what he gathers to the faunus, allowing them to forge better quality weapons. The note he gave me said that he wouldn't touch the Relics for this year's initiation. He didn't. I also spoke with Qrow. There is a young faunus at Signal who is very gifted and is on a scholarship. He only came up with the first year's tuition at the last minute. From Cheshire's note, pawning the relics helped the young man and another woman. It stands to reason that he was unaware of their usage."

"But sir, can you trust him?"

"Glynda, I would venture a guess that he was also unaware that I wanted to speak with him and was only trying to catch him as he came and left. The fact I couldn't is proof enough that Cheshire is a gifted candidate."

"Can't I at least be there?"

Ozpin shook his head. "Given your past, Cheshire stated last night that he doesn't wish to anger you further."

Glenda nodded. She had practically taken a pound of flesh out of Team MPLE. "But the year has already started, where would you put him?"

Ozpin took a long sip of tea. "I was thinking of an apprenticeship. If he is skilled enough to sneak past me, take on entire teams and win, and be undiscovered for three years, I think he warrants it. Besides, look how well Qrow did with Miss Rose. That wasn't even a formal apprenticeship."

"Who would want him as an apprentice?"

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "Myself for starters. Professor Port also has extended an offer, should I speak with him. Before you say anything Glynda, between our responsibilities and time demands to our positions and the Academy, the two of us should be able to appropriately manage teaching an apprentice without increasing your workload." Ozpin smiled slightly at Glynda's protest being resolved. "Peter said that to not nurture the boy's talent would be a criminal waste of aptitude. I happen to agree." Oz mused internally that with his discussions with Qrow, with the possible actions of the enemy, their side would benefit from another heavy hitter. The spying abilities of the teen alone would be useful. Ozpin also held a brief worry that the opposition had already been in contact with Cheshire.

Glynda frowned. "We know very little about him. Why give him access to the school?"

Ozpin raised an eyebrow "What makes you think he doesn't have that already? He has been hunting in the Emerald Forest for three years. To get from the forest to Vale, the fastest route is through the campus. After the first few weeks, all video of Grimm being harvested is outside of school hours. Qrow said that his faunus students used techniques that, while rudimentary, were the basis of more powerful things taught here at Beacon and other similar schools. These students then taught this to others. I think Mr. Cheshire has been paying more attention in class than many of our students. I think it would also be a fair estimate that he taught the faunus of Vale as well. I would also venture a guess that if something interested him, he even accessed the Professor's private libraries as well as the advanced section. From the aid he gave to teams RWBY and JNPR, he has a very powerful Semblance and great control. It isn't one I've seen before. I would venture a guess that he learned how to use it all on his own. That would take constant work and effort. Fighting Grimm on a daily basis would do just that."

Harry's eyes widened marginally. He hadn't noticed that part of his behavior.

Glynda was about to voice a complaint when Ozpin held up a hand. "I intend to thank him for his efforts against the Grimm in the forest and offer him an apprenticeship, no strings attached. He doesn't even have to tell me his real name. If he doesn't take it, then I am content to allow him to continue hunting in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin mused, "I wonder why he hasn't really ventured into Forever Fall or Mountain Glenn? There are some truly nasty Gimm there."

Harry shook his head. He had thought about it, but the constantly falling leaves just made him too easy to track. And the wasps were a nuisance. As for Mountain Glenn, he'd never given it any thought. Fighting in an urban setting would be new to him.

Glynda huffed. "I just want you to be careful."

Ozpin nodded. "I will. Now I have to go, I am running late already."

Harry followed the professor. He situated himself behind Ozpin and shifted back. "Not a good first impression Headmaster. But it's the first day of school. You likely were busy." The teen's sudden appearance was one the startled the Huntsman. Harry sat down. "Can I ask why the Headmaster of Beacon Academy wants to speak with me?"

Ozpin sat opposite the young man with his hands in plain view.

"In all truth, I wanted to thank you. Because of your actions alone, the amount of Grimm in the Emerald Forest has declined. By current estimates it is around ten percent. On another note, given what little film we have of you fighting the Grimm, two professors at Beacon have offered you an apprenticeship. They also have agreed to collaborate on your training should you decide to be apprentice to both."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What would an apprenticeship entail?"

Ozpin blinked. Cheshire hadn't even asked who. "Daily specialty training, advanced studies, sparring with two Elite Hunstmen. You would likely have to help grade papers or help with other duties to allow this activity. You would also have private quarters and a unique status here at Beacon."

Harry leaned forward. "Would I still be free to have my daily Grimm hunting sessions?"

Ozpin nodded. "I don't see how that would be a problem."

Harry leaned back. He had hit a ceiling in learning on his own. Red kept insisting that he needed to learn a weapon. Harry had heard plenty of stories that up against large numbers of Grimm, a weapon would benefit him immensely.

Ozpin saw the young man give it serious thought. He settled back as well.

Harry finally spoke up, "As you can likely guess, I depend solely on my Aura, Semblance, and physical prowess to fight. I've never used any weapons or armor. Would the professors be willing to start from the beginner level on that front?"

Ozpin chuckled. "Given how well developed your Aura and Semblance usage may be, I don't foresee that as a problem."

Harry nodded and stood. "No time like the present. By the way, I accept your offer. As long as the second one isn't Ooblek, I'll consider it. I don't like the smell of coffee. Let's go talk to the other Professor. My money is on Port."

Ozpin blinked. "How did you know?"

Harry smirked. "After three years of me constantly avoiding your vigils, I bet you are dying to wonder how I managed to do that." Harry pointed to the cat ears. "These things aren't just for show you know."

Ozpin took another sip from his cup. "Indeed." On his face was a wry smile.

As the pair chatted, Ozpin asked a question that was on his mind. "I doubt Cheshire is your real name. Would you prefer to be called something else?"

Harry shook his head. "Before I came here I went by another name, but that was practically another world. Cheshire will do. Maybe one day I'll tell you that name and how I got past you."

Ozpin nodded. Something in the boy's eyes hinted at a loss. It was best to leave it alone for now.

When the doors at the back of Professor Port's classroom opened, Peter stopped his lecture. "Professor Ozpin?! What brings the Headmaster to my class?"

This caused the class to perk up and look attentive.

Ozpin stood in the doorway. "The young man who you offered an apprenticeship has accepted. I have brought him with me."

Port's loud cry of "Huzzah!" caused quite a few people to blink. An apprenticeship with an established Elite Huntsman was rare, and usually was a mark of rare talent. Quite a few people were speculating about who it was.

All eyes were watching Ozpin as he stepped to the side, revealing the figure they had all been warned about the previous day.

Weiss blurted out, "You!"

Harry pointed to himself. "Me! I thought we went over this already princess."

Argent spoke up, "Cheshire, you're becoming Professor Port's apprentice?"

Harry nodded.

Ozpin continued, "Since Mr. Cheshire will be apprenticing under Professor Port and another Professor here at Beacon, you will see him around campus. Considering he will be ranked higher than students in their final year, I would not antagonize him. He is also going to be given certain disciplinary leeway with students. If he can substantiate someone's actions as being worthy of detention to Professor Port or any other Professor, make no mistake, they will be given one. He will of course have to back up his accusations."

Cardon spoke up, obviously miffed. "Why does an animal like him get the opportunity?"

Port spoke rather bluntly. "Mr. Winchester, detention tonight. While discrimination unfortunately happens, if I see it, you will be reminded that here at Beacon we value skill, not one someone looks like." His tone was such that caused quite a few people to look at the professor in a new light. Beneath his bravado was unforgiving steel. "That young man has killed more Grimm in the past three years than all of the students in Beacon combined. That is hardly a small feat. And he has done it all on his own without weapons or armor. I just spoke of the qualities of a Huntsman. He has them in spades." At the class' shocked looks, the man's mustache curved into a smile. "Perhaps a demonstration would be in order."

Ozpin nodded. "Cheshire, would you mind?"

Harry shook his head. A large crate was at the front of the class. Harry walked in front of it. "Boarbatusk?"

Port nodded as he took down his blunderbuss.

Harry turned to the class. "As most of you know, a Boarbatusk is considered to be a low-level Grimm. They can be easily defeated if you can expose their underbelly. However, they rarely are alone. A pack will run at least five, oftentimes up to much higher numbers. The largest I have ever seen is twenty. Packs that size can be difficult without proper planning and teamwork. They are also very intelligent. Their most powerful attack is a spin dash. When an entire pack attacks in that manner, it can carve a path through a forest. The armor on their back and sides is extremely resilient to most Dust and Aura techniques, however a hard enough blow can break through it. Last time I did that I sprained my wrist, so I wouldn't recommend it unless your semblance is enhanced strength."

Port and Ozpin weren't the only ones with raised eyebrows at that remark.

Harry continued, "Most Hunters try to isolate a single one as they engage it. If that can't be done, tactics depend on how many you are facing, what the terrain is, and the strengths and weaknesses of you and your teammates. I wouldn't recommend my way of fighting a Boarbatusk to anyone in this room. As you see, I am different than most faunus. I use that to my advantage. As a team, learn each other's skills so that you can rely on your teammates in a battle." Peter watched as his students, many who were previously bored, now paid close attention and a few wrote down notes. He inwardly mused how long it would be before Cheshire was a professor here at Beacon.

Harry looked at Professor Port. "Quick and clean or educational?"

This brought the man back to the present. The mustached man deliberated for a moment before saying, "Educational."

Harry nodded. Most of the students saw thick claws extend from his fingers. All of the faunus students were rather excited. Here was a unique faunus who was offered a dual apprenticeship and they were about to see how well he could fight.

As the door clanged down, the four eyes glowed balefully at Harry. Harry tensed and dodged the attack. The next sprint had Harry grab the large tusks and toss the Grimm off to the side. This caused a few people to mutter if enhanced strength was Cheshire's Semblance. The golden bust of Professor Port fell and hit the Grimm on its head, adding to its rage.

When the Grimm began a spin dash, Harry dropped to the floor and angled his body, creating a ramp. This launched the Grimm into the air.

The Boarbatusk was still spinning in midair. Harry timed his attack, jumped into the air, and stuck his clawed hand into the center of the whirling mass. Moments later, the Boarbatusk fell to the ground. Its stomach was ripped clean open.

Harry stood and wiped off his hand. As he took in the shocked looks of everyone in the room, Harry explained. "By properly coating my body with Aura; the attack, while normally damaging, had no effect. I also reinforced my arm and claws with Aura, allowing me to handle the force from the spin. As I said, I wouldn't recommend that option to anyone in this room. It took me months of work fighting Grimm every day to develop that technique. Any questions?"

A girl with rabbit ears raised her hand.

Harry nodded, "Yes?"

"Did you have to kill it so viciously? Isn't a clean kill better?"

Harry tilted his head. "Anytime a Grimm dies, it is usually after a battle with the end result being death or injury to it or you. I would rather have Grimm guts on my arm, than mine on its tusks. Also, unlike all other life on Remnant, Grimm have no souls, so I don't feel bad about fighting them like that. Make no mistake; even a low-level Grimm will kill you if it gets the chance. Don't give it to them."

Ozpin clapped. He had never seen anything like that. Cheshire certainly had a way of making an impression. "Well said."

Port looked very happy. "That is all the time we have for today. Make sure to read the sections that have been assigned."

As the students filed out, most talking about the end of the lesson, Harry hit the smoking Grimm with the rendering spell. Ozpin and Port were intrigued to see it up close. Ozpin gestured with his cane to a puddle of black ichor. "What is that?"

Harry shrugged, "Best I can figure, it's the toxins that are normally in the muscles that cause the body to disintegrate after death. That is what has to be removed in order to make the meat edible. If you want the meat, you can have it. It makes amazing bacon. It is what normal bacon wants to be when it grows up. The rest of it you can have as well. It was yours anyway."

Ozpin grinned. He had had a roast once from Boarbatusk. But bacon? That was new. Then again, the uncooked meat actually looked like meat. Normally the process to remove the toxins was long, and it showed. But Cheshire accomplished it in seconds.

Port enthusiastically accepted. He rubbed his belly thinking about all of the rare foods he could try because of his new apprentice. He could finally have an Ursa steak. If the bacon from a Boarbatusk was that good… Port grinned. Everything was better with bacon. That meant everything would be amazing with Boarbatusk bacon.

Port clapped Harry on his shoulder. "My student, this will be the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship. It is time for lunch. Why don't you join the other students in the cafeteria?" Port pulled out some Lien. "On me of course."

Ozpin pointed to half of the rapidly cooling meat. "This half is mine. I'll send one of the cooks to collect it."

Port nodded. "I will stand guard." He would have his bacon.

* * *

The news that Cheshire was now an apprentice to two professors spread around the school like wildfire. Regardless of that fact, it was still shocking to see him enter the cafeteria with the Headmaster.

Ozpin informed the cooking staff that Cheshire was to have the same meal privileges as the staff. That meant his meals were free and he could have them delivered to his quarters. Ozpin winked at Harry, "Keep the Lien. You'll need it when you decide on a weapon."

Harry got his lunch and Agent waved him over. "Two apprenticships?! You are so lucky." He then whispered, "Dad is going to flip!"

A barrel-chested and stocky faunus wearing a red shirt with a yellow pair of bear ears sitting across from Argent was astonished. "You weren't lying. You really actually know Cheshire."

Argent nodded.

Harry smiled. "Argent, why don't you introduce me?"

Argent gestured to the faunus. "Well my team all agreed to sit together today. This big guy with a debilitating sweet tooth is Winston."

The boy smiled. "We've met."

A girl sat next to Winston. She promptly put her head on her forearms and Harry was sure he heard snoring.

"This narcoleptic girl is Aurora."

A murmur was heard in between snores. "Not narcoleptic. Sleepy."

Harry dodged a projectile. It turned out to be a pink haired girl. "Ohmygosh! It'sreally _the_ Cheshire! Argentsaidheknewyou. Ididn'tknowifhewaslying. Itwassocoolhowyoubeatthepiggy. Couldyouteachushowtodothat?! CanItouchyourears? ArgieandWinniewon'tletme. Ithinkthey'dbesoft. Doyoulikefish?"

Harry blinked. "Breathe. How did you say all of without stopping?"

Argent laughed, "We think that her Semblance is not needing to breathe as she speaks. This is Ysabella. She's tenth of eighteen kids."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "That is a lot of kids. Your mother must have been so busy looking after you that she would be beside herself."

The pink haired girl pouted. "Life at the Shoe household was always busy. I kind of have the habit of talking fast because you had to at home."

Winston spoke up. "We all went to Signal together. We got lucky enough to be on the same team."

Harry chuckled as he ate his sandwich.

Winston leaned in close. "Why didn't you use a weapon against the Boarbatusk?"

Harry shrugged. "Haven't had the chance to learn to use one. Aura manipulation and battle tactics, yes, but hand to hand, not so much. I developed a style against Grimm, but haven't had a chance to practice against an opponent."

Aurora woke up at that. "You can fight like that without formal training?"

Harry shrugged and nodded.

The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of an angry heiress. "What were you doing interrupting class?! We were in the middle of a lesson and you had to show off."

Harry looked over his shoulder. "Argent, Winston, Aurora, Ysabella. This flat-chested walking lack of tact is Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. Part of Team RWBY, and arsonist extraordinaire."

All of Team AWAY's eyes narrowed slightly at the girl's name. They had heard the rumors about the family and didn't approve.

Ysabella spoke up. "Arsonist?"

Harry nodded. "She burned down the little house I had built for myself in the Emerald Forest." He turned to the furious white haired girl. "First off, I didn't interrupt class. Professor Ozpin did. Second, Professor Port asked me to take it out. Not once did I offer to be the in-class demonstration. Once again you aren't actually thinking before you speak. Is this a new habit or have you always been this disagreeable?"

The rest of Team RWBY had followed Weiss over to the table. Ruby was doing her best to convince Weiss to let the matter drop and at least apologize.

Blake came up to Harry. "I'm sorry she's acting like that. I get the feeling she is used to getting her way."

Harry stood within Blake's personal space. "Don't worry. I won't judge you or your team on the manners of one disagreeable individual."

A light blush was on Blake's cheeks. "Thanks."

Harry grinned. "Besides, Ozpin said I could choose a room. I told him that since princess owed me a place to sleep, she would get a bundle of blankets on some hay in the corner. He did say I deserved my own bed."

Weiss stormed out of the lunchroom. Ruby went after her to try to calm her down.

Yang turned to look at Harry. "Are you really going to force her to do that? Won't sleeping in the same room with four girls be uncomfortable?"

Given the blonde girl's rather brash responses, Harry decided to toss one right back at her. "Quite frankly Yang, I would say that most of the males here would be jealous of my position of being surrounded by such examples of feminine beauty. Are you volunteering to make my stay in your room more…comfortable?" At the purple eyed girl's sudden blush, Harry shook his head. "Ozpin said that I'll be getting private quarters. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop antagonizing Weiss. She was rather rude about the whole thing and not once has she apologized or offered something to repay what she did. Once that happens, I will try to be nicer to her. It's called common courtesy." Internally Harry mused that Weiss was acting a lot like Malfoy. Both seemed to bank on their family name and weren't used to not getting what they wanted.

Yang took a moment and rallied. "That's sad to hear Cheshire. I'm sure Blake wouldn't have minded you being in our room."

The black haired girl's eyes widened marginally but she said nothing.

Argent had never really seen a flirty side of Harry and was amused. He decided to join in the verbal spar. His voice was innocent, but his intentions anything but. "Cheshire, you know mom keeps bugging you to find a nice girl and settle down. Should I tell her about the girls of Team RWBY? I'm sure she would like to meet them if that is the case."

This caused Blake, Yang, and Harry to all sputter and Team AWAY to all laugh. Harry frowned at Argent. "This means war. And for the record, if you tell Noir anything I will make you pay."

A despondent Ruby came back into the lunch room and Blake and Yang left and sat next to the cape wearing girl. Something had happened.

Harry cast a spell to freeze Argent's drink and when he went to take a sip, a flood of slush came out of the mug.

Harry had finished his meal. As Argent sputtered and tried to clean himself off, Harry merely shook his head. "Argent do you remember the last time you tried to play tricks on me?"

The faunus shuddered. "Yes."

Harry began the disillusion. "That was me going easy."

All that was left was a smile and green eyes hanging in the air before they too disappeared.

Ysabella looked at the spot the faunus disappeared from for a long second. Her squeal was pitched high enough that Argent and Winston winced. Blake grit her teeth as well. "That was awesome! Could he teach me that?"

* * *

After lunch, Harry shifted into the Beacon Stray and made his way to the office of Professor Port. He reverted a few minutes before knocking.

Port was busy wiping his mouth as he finished his lunch. "Cheshire. We are going to head to the staff training fields. You are going to be sparring against us so we can find a weapon that will work with your style. No Dust or Aura techniques, just hand to hand."

Harry winced. "Yes sir."

Port shook his head. "When it is just the two of us, call me Peter. With your impressive record, I view you as much a student as a comrade."

When they arrived at the field, Ozpin, Goodwich, and Oobleck were all standing on the observation spots as well as there was another man leaning against a tree. His face was hidden by shadows. A rather large box was next to him and parts of weapons were sticking out of the box. Hilts, shields, and a gun barrel or twenty were all visible. A large weapon was on the man's back as well.

Harry walked to the middle of the field. Port removed his jacket and settled into a boxing stance. "Whenever you are ready Cheshire. And no claws please."

Harry grinned and bounced lightly on his feet. What followed was an interesting fight. Port obviously was experienced, but he still got some hits landed on him by his younger, less predictable, opponent. A few of them caused the man to grunt and be pushed back slightly. When Port landed a hit, which was frequently, the black haired faunus went sprawling in the dirt. He was quickly back up for more. Harry would use his speed and agility to dodge the majority of the blows from the portly professor. He even used his tail to cause Port to flinch so he could land a hit on the man.

After about fifteen minutes, Ozin called a halt. "Cheshire. Do you have non-lethal Aura techniques?"

Harry nodded.

Ozpin spoke. "You may use them."

Port tensed and jumped out of the way of a bevy of blasts that were headed his way. He cursed his refined palate and love of good food when his girth was hit by a white blast that locked all of his limbs in place.

Port looked up at Harry. Moments later he was freed. "Good show." Harry helped the man back up.

Port and the four observers all spoke for a few minutes.

Port wiped down his brow and put his coat back on.

Ozpin leaned on his cane. "Your speed and strength are impressive but your hand-to-hand combat is lacking. I would venture a guess that you rely on your invisibility to avoid being hit. That doesn't mean you can't take a hit. You are durable."

Harry nodded and cast a spell to remove bruising.

Oobleck spoke next. "When you used your Aura techniques, Peter was capable of dodging them. If you were up against a faster opponent, they could wear you out. Luckily, since you aren't too tall, you can also use your size to an advantage in dodging attacks."

Glynda spoke next. "Your Aura manipulation is phenomenal. You don't use glyphs or Dust spells, your Semblance is very versatile. I doubt we could teach you much in that regard, just better usage against human opponents. Your techniques all seem to travel in a straight line. There are ways to change their path that you should learn. You might want to consider some armor for when an opponent has more power than just their fists."

After taking a drink from a flask, the man under the tree tossed a thick rod with a ball on the end at Ozpin, tossed an electronic scroll to Goodwitch, then turned and left.

Port finished. "We all agree that you need a weapon to slow down enemies, possibly capturing them." He hit a button on the rod and a sharp blade unfolded and a weight fell to the ground attached by a chain. "Our mystery guest was Qrow, a teacher from Signal Academy. He is a friend of ours. This is a training weapon that he suggested for your style. Quite frankly, we all agree that it has the most potential, however, it can be very difficult to learn to wield. This training weapon is to let you get used to the idea. You will eventually design and forge your own. You will wear this at all times to get used to the weight." Port hit a button and the ball and the blade retracted. "Now to teach you the basics."

With this, Oobleck, Goodwitch and Ozpin all left the teen to his training.

Port was standing on a rooftop patio watching the sun set as he thought about his day. Cheshire had left the field bruised, but smiling. Footsteps announced the arrival of the Schnee heiress who was in his class.

Ozpin was walking the hallway in thought. With the scroll and training weapon, Cheshire would be busy. Glynda was right. His forte was Aura manipulation and projection. The Headmaster had never seen anything like it. They all could be different applications of his Semblance. It was possible. He was unlike anyone Ozpin had ever seen. But he didn't use Dust spells. Ozpin grinned. That was his answer. If Cheshire combined Dust with his attacks, he would be extremely formidable. Couple that with his fighting prowess against Grimm, all Ozpin had to do was convince Cheshire to compete in a few tournaments to publicly showcase what he could do; it might put a halt to the enemy's plans.

Ozpin was stopped by Ruby. The girl seemed distraught.

* * *

After Port had directed Harry to his quarters, Harry apparated to just outside Red's house. When Noir answered the door, she immediately brought her surrogate son into the home. "Harry?! What happened?!"

Red heard his wife's tone and came running. Harry was beaten and bruised.

Harry grinned. "Weapons training. Ozpin and Port both offered me an apprenticeship."

Red's mouth dropped open. "How?"

Harry shrugged and then winced. He used some spells and also directed his Aura to heal the damage. "Apparently getting past him to hunt in the Emerald Forest for three years was enough proof of my skills. They also had footage of some of my hunts. Ozpin had asked the Initiates to tell me that he wanted to speak to me."

Both of the adults were in shock. After a moment, Red grinned. "Then I really need to work on your armor."

Harry nodded. "They recommended that I get some and start wearing it. Professor Port can hit really hard." His hand massaged where he was sure he had a cracked rib.

Noir left and came back with a bag of ice. She pointed to the device on Harry's belt. "Is that a new weapon?"

Harry shook his head. "Just a training one. Qrow, from Signal picked it out. It will apparently take a lot of effort to get working right, but I actually really like it. I still have to forge my own. I'm going to be talking to someone who is enamored with weapons. I already have a few ideas, but I want to know if they are feasible."

Red chuckled. "With how many Grimm you have taken down, you'll be able to make a very nice one. I've kept some of the nicest specimens in reserve for when you decided to forge a weapon. It's not like we have a shortage."

When Harry apparated back to the school; he knocked on the door to Team RWBY's rooms.

Yang answered. "Ouch. What happened to you Cheshire?"

Harry shrugged. "Professor Port. It isn't anything a good night's sleep won't fix."

Ruby was astonished. She had thought that the rotund man was all hot air, but to see the results on someone that was elusive even for Ozpin was humbling.

Harry turned to the team leader. "Your sister said as we were getting the Relics that you know quite a bit about weaponry?"

Ruby nodded. "Yes."

Harry pulled out his gift and tossed it to Ruby. "A teacher from Signal named Qrow suggested that for me. I must admit it works well."

Ruby's eyebrows rose as she saw the rather unique weapon. "Uncle Qrow was here?! Why didn't he say hi?"

Yang looked at her sister. "We were probably in class."

Harry nodded. "I will be forging my own when I'm a little more proficient. Since it has a scythe, I was wondering if I could bounce a few ideas off of you. I must admit yours is rather impressive."

Ruby blinked and smiled. She loved talking weapons with people.

After he retrieved his training weapon, Harry looked at Blake who was lying on her bed reading a book, although she was currently looking at their visitor. "Good evening Miss Belladonna. I apologize for tearing you away from your books."

Blake buried her nose back in the book. "You're forgiven." She did, however, continue to occasionally glance at their visitor.

Harry looked at Weiss' bed. "Where is the princess?"

Ruby withdrew on herself and Yang crossed her arms. Harry's eyes were drawn to the fact that it emphasized her bust. He quickly diverted his eyes. "Weiss thinks she should be the team leader."

Harry quirked an eyebrow. "Well, she's not. You don't always get what you want."

Blake looked up from her book once again. "Cheshire? Is there a reason you look so different from other faunus?"

Harry looked at Blake for a long time. "Yes there is. But quite frankly, I'm the only one who knows why. Not even Argent's family knows the reason why. It is a rather personal question." When Harry saw the bow twitch, his eyes narrowed. Harry became a little suspicious. After a moment of silence, Harry spoke again. "I'm sure you understand that there are some secrets that you would rather not share either." He looked pointedly at the bow. "Ladies, I wish you all a good night. I will have to speak with Miss Schnee some other time."

Harry dove out the window before anyone could say anything.

Blake's eyes widened as Cheshire left.

Harry knocked on the window to Team AWAY. It appeared that a small war was underway. At the sound of the knock things froze. Ysabella pointed to the window and Winston opened it. Harry waved. "Argent. Red and Noir say hi. They are also glad your friends are on your team."

Winston gestured to the fort made from mattresses. "Do you want to join us?"

Harry smirked and shook his head. "Don't you all have homework to do?"

The four combatants froze.

Winston summed it up, "Oh bother."

When Harry finally lay down, he had to smile. The past two days had been full of changes. He couldn't wait to see what was coming tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Not mine. Neither is any story that spawned any of my OC's.**

* * *

As Harry was making his way to the dorms the next morning, Team MPLE appeared to block the way.

Harry grinned. "Hello gentlemen."

Marcus the leader, growled. "I don't know how you blackmailed the Professors you beast. But we know better."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Blackmail? Really?"

The quartet quickly surrounded the faunus. "We'll make you pay for humiliating us. You're nothing more than a wild animal."

Harry rolled his eyes. He merely apparated out of the circle. "You do realize that Professor Oobleck is right behind you?"

Team MPLE turned as one and the green haired professor was glaring at them. The glint of light off the man's glasses was rather intimidating.

Harry smiled at the man. "Professor Port probably needs his cages cleaned out."

Oobleck smirked. "That's a good idea Cheshire. They also can wash the stains off my coffee mugs. You four go to my office now or I will triple your detentions. Congratulations on getting a dual apprenticeship. Can I borrow you for a class later next week?"

The apprentice shrugged. "I don't see why not. I'll have to check if I am available. Professor Port may be using me as a punching bag."

Oobleck nodded. His expression turned serious and his tone shifted from the rapid speech that he normally used in class. "Cheshire, may I ask a question?"

Harry nodded, "As long as I don't have to answer it if I don't want to."

Oobleck nodded again. "I was curious about your appearance. You have more animal features than most faunus. I was wondering if you had noticed any differences over other faunus."

"Such as?"

Oobleck cleared his throat, going into a lecturing tone. "Faunus, as a general rule, have better night vision than humans. I was curious if you also had abilities that other faunus did not. I have heard rumors that in the past, pardon the expression, the more animalistic a faunus looked, there was a higher chance of special abilities that normal faunus lacked."

Harry shook his head. "Sorry, no."

Oobleck nodded. "Well, thank you, I must get going. Today's lesson won't prepare itself."

Harry ate a quick breakfast and went to the training field. Peter had told him that he was to begin further speed, strength, and endurance training. He had said that Cheshire was good, but needed to be amazing. Given what he had read of the older, more experienced Grimm, Cheshire had to agree.

Harry began the exercises. Unknown to him, a camera was filming it. Glynda handed over two stacks of Lein to Ozpin and Port. Harry also worked on some basic drills that the scroll had detailed with his weapon. He would stop from time to time to write down various ideas and details.

When he stopped for lunch, Ozpin was watching. "I am impressed. Your stamina is excellent."

Harry shrugged. "Fighting against Grimm after practicing what I saw at the sparring rings helps."

Ozpin sat on the grass. "How well do you know Beacon?"

Harry shook his head. "Well enough to know that Glynda keeps a small tin of breath mints and a hidden tube of lip gloss that she uses about five minutes before she has a meeting with you. This month it is strawberry."

Ozpin blinked. He didn't know that.

Harry shrugged. "When I arrived here I knew no one, had no money, and was looked down upon just because of what I looked like. The Emerald Forest and Vale quickly became my home. Beacon's library explained so many things that I didn't understand about my new home. I met some people who gave me a place to stay. Hunting Grimm helps them out too. While sneaking around, I learned how to fight better by watching the students and Professors. I built a tree house in the Emerald Forest. Up until the princess burned it down, it was my home. I have enough Lein to buy a small house, but I've never liked the close press of people within the walls."

Ozpin tossed a belt with several cylinders on it to the faunus. "We're going to start on augmenting your techniques with Dust. I noticed that you don't use it. That is going to change today."

Harry's eyebrows rose. "I've never had formal schooling. There are plenty of warnings that working with Dust without proper training can be incredibly dangerous."

Ozpin nodded. "It is. Because of your wide variety of Aura manipulation, I am going to have you training with the four base Dust types. You will also choose two combinations to become proficient in as well. One of which I want you to consider using ones that there are not a lot of techniques for. Given your abilities, I think that you could greatly expand the combat abilities of a few of the lesser-used Dust types. The canisters hold the most common. Most students only work with one or two. I think you can handle far more. So until you learn the appropriate amounts to use and the correct way to do so, I'm afraid you will be battered, bruised, and likely burned. I always thought that the best teachers are experience and pain."

Harry winced and nodded. Port had said something similar.

The grin on Ozpin's face was showing the man was close to laughing. "Just remember you need strength of will to control the reactions.

Harry took a small amount of Flame Dust. He didn't want it on his hands when it was set off.

Ozpin watched as the faunus inspected each canister. He took a pinch of Flame Dust and flicked it outwards. It would create a good sized fireball, it looked like his student was being cautious. Ozpin's eyes were wide at what happened next.

Just after the dust left his fingers, Harry hit it with a small amount of Aura and a low powered incindeo.

The resulting fireball left soot marks on Harry's face. All of the grass in an expanding v-shape was burning out to around twenty feet.

Harry turned to Ozpin and coughed. A small amount of smoke left his lungs. "I'm guessing that was too much."

Ozpin sipped his tea to hide his shock at the results produced. "Indeed. Let's try again shall we?" That was even stronger than Glynda.

When Harry walked into the Cafeteria, smoke was rising from his sooty form. Winston was in line behind him. "Cheshire. Were you burning something?"

Harry chuckled. "One of my instructors decided that one of the training fields needed to be cleared of grass."

Ysabelle's eyes widened, "They made you burn it down?" She sounded excited. "Can I see?"

Harry shook his head. "I guess you could say that, and unlikely. We were using the instructors' fields."

* * *

Ozpin surveyed the scorched earth of the training field. In order to perform a regular sized fireball, only the slightest amount of dust could be used by Cheshire. Ozpin mused, was this a side effect of focusing on Aura manipulation on its own instead of combining it with Dust, or was this another one of Cheshire's quirks?

* * *

Harry ate a good sized lunch. Argent and his team grilled Harry about his schedule. When they heard that one of his instructors was having him learn Dust spells of six Dust types, they were shocked.

Aurora yawned. "Six Dust types? Most people stick with two or three at most if they use them at all."

Harry nodded. "I know. Professor Port is likely going to work me over again today."

When Team RWBY came in for lunch Harry excused himself from the table.

Harry sat opposite Weiss.

Weiss' eyes widened, "You!"

Harry shook his head, "Yes, me. Honestly do we have to do this every time?"

Yang produced a bowl of popcorn from somewhere and was watching the encounter. Blake and Ruby stole some from the bowl.

Weiss huffed. "Don't you have someone else to bother?" Teams JNPR and AWAY were now also watching and eating popcorn.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "So has the Arson Princess decided to apologize?"

Weiss huffed. "I'm not going to apologize to someone like you! Besides it looks and smells like you were lighting something on fire yourself."

Harry frowned. "Well, I didn't want to burn your suitcases and clothes, but no one would buy them. The pawn shop owner said something about cheap mass-produced knockoffs. He said the same thing about the painting that was on the wall. The frame was at least worth a few hundred Lein."

Weiss stuttered, "You, you, you..."

Harry frown deepened, "Yes. Me, me, me. We covered that already today. The cost for rebuilding my house was far greater than the money I could get pawning off your stuff. You'd think the heiress to a rich company would at least have designer clothes and luggage."

Weiss jumped up in anger. "How dare you burn my things! You'll pay for them all you filthy cat!"

Harry stood and was almost face to face with Weiss. "Well, since you said that wanting repayment for burning almost everything I own wasn't a realistic view, I figured that you wouldn't mind if I did the same to you."

"Of course I would mind! That…"

Harry cut her off. "Then why would you think I wouldn't princess? In truth, all of your things are safe, sound and unharmed. Mine aren't. The smoke was from rather intensive Dust training. I haven't even touched your stuff."

Weiss deflated slightly and sat down.

Harry continued. "It's funny, all this time you've been saying that my reaction was unjustified. Yet you had the exact same one. Think about that princess."

"Why wouldn't it be? You may say you're not part of the White Fang, but you're certainly cruel like they are. Maybe that's a Faunus trait!"

This comment had a few other people glaring at the heiress."

Harry's eyes narrowed and he spat back. "Spoken just like an enslaver. Tell me _Schnee_ , how does it feel knowing that everything you own is bought by the labor of those _inferior_ to you? Do you go to bed smiling at the fact your company perpetuates the trend of profiting off of people's lives?"

Weiss' ire was now truly stoked. "Like you care?! The White Fang has _killed_ family friends, _destroyed_ parts of my grandfather's company, _stole_ the Dust that was mined, and they _gloated_ about it. Tell me why I shouldn't associate you with them?"

Harry stared down the girl. The chill in his voice caused several listening to shiver. "Because I'm not the White Fang. Never have been, never will be. And you know what, I'm not alone in that regards. I know several faunus who _left_ the White Fang because they started doing exactly what you mentioned. I'll _never_ back any organization that says that someone is better or worse just based on who your parents were. Faunus, human it doesn't matter which side you're looking at this from. But then again, given what your father has gone on record saying, I'm not really surprised you don't see things that way."

Weiss now had tears in her eyes as she yelled back. "I'm not my father!" She slammed her fists on the table. "You've never had people you care about killed!"

Harry's face froze and his voice was clipped and empty. "My mother and father were killed for being 'inferior' and a 'traitor to his blood,' respectively. I know very well what that is like."

Weiss sat with wide eyes and had a tear run down her cheek. "I'm sorry."

Harry turned and walked away. He knew he had lost his temper and he didn't want to have that happen. He needed to do some thinking about his reaction. The heiress' reaction wasn't exactly what he expected.

Team AWAY asked to sit with JNPR and RWBY. After Chesire left, Weiss just sat looking at her lunch. That statement, coupled with what Professor Port had told her last night hit the girl hard.

She was shaken out of her musings by an unfamiliar voice. "When he isn't trying to prove a point, he's actually a really nice guy."

Weiss looked up and a faunus with grey fox ears was across from her. Sitting next to him was presumably his team. Her voice was confused and defensive. "What do you mean?"

Argent sighed. "Let me tell you a little something about Cheshire. My family has known him since he came to Vale. On his first night here, almost three years ago, he stopped three humans from beating my father for daring to have a store that 'stole their business.' He was alone, had no money, had killed an Ursa barehanded earlier that day, and was likely exhausted. But at fourteen, he beat three rather formidable men, saved my dad, and helped him home. My mom had to beg him to spend the night. He stopped fights between human and faunus alike. He even convinced a few of the faunus not to join the White Fang. When he built his home in the Emerald Forest, it was because he didn't want to continually take up the guest bedroom in our house. It also kept him closer to the Grimm that he hunted so that the faunus attending the battle schools would be able to afford the catalysts for forging. That is who he is. Cheshire may be an effective Huntsman, a horrible opponent in a prank war, look different from anyone else, have a smart mouth, but at the end of the day he's a good person."

This revelation shocked Teams JNPR and RWBY.

Yang was surprised. "He really convinced faunus to not join the White Fang?" Blake wanted to know the same thing.

Winston answered that with a nod. "I was one of them." Shocked looks were on almost every face who didn't know Winston. "Before I had some sense knocked into me, by Cheshire, a couple of friends and I thought we could use some of the things being taught at Signal to put some of our antagonists in their place. Cheshire showed up and stopped the fight. We were winning. After the humans left, he helped us to see exactly what we were doing. He was rather convincing." Winston rubbed his shoulder in remembrance of the 'persuasion' that Cheshire had used. "Cheshire said two things that day that changed how I see things. The first was, 'Prejudice isn't just one direction. It cuts both ways.' He pointed out that we were treating the humans exactly the way they treated us. That made us as bad as the ones who discriminate against the faunus. The second was, 'You can instill fear, but you have to earn respect.' That is self-explanatory. He also pointed out that the backlash from what the White Fang is doing will likely be horrible unless there are prominent examples of faunus who don't advocate those beliefs to offset them. He was rather convincing."

Argent added in. "When he turned down the offer to join the White Fang, their messenger tried to convince him with force. You can guess how well that worked. Cheshire told the recruiter that if he is ever seen in town again that he would be in a full body cast. He said that the current leader of the White Fang had betrayed what the founders of the organization wanted, peace and equality between humans and faunus. The man left our house with a broken wrist, ankle, and nose." Argent sighed. "And quite frankly, all we've ever heard about your family is rather negative. So he's been going off of that. Given your behavior, you really haven't given him any reason to think you're different."

Blake's eyes widened at that little tidbit. "Is Cheshire his real name?"

Argent shook his head. "No. When he learned that the Professors of Beacon had dubbed him that after seeing that invisibility technique he uses, he liked it, and the name stuck. Only my parents still call him by his real name."

Ruby spoke up. "So what is his real name?"

Argent shook his head again and stood. "His secrets are not mine to tell. Besides, I think he likes the air of mystery that seems to surround him. Enjoy your lunch." Team AWAY stood and left.

Once the other team had left, Blake looked at Weiss. "Still think he's a good for nothing faunus?" She barely held in her smirk.

Weiss only stared at her lunch as she slowly ate it. While Cheshire clearly wasn't White Fang, it still made her uneasy. He just looked so… catlike. She would have to think about a lot.

* * *

After class, Weiss sat on a bench staring out at the city below. Even though she despised the faunus in general, Cheshire seemed to stand against the White Fang. Weiss traced her hand over her scar. She thought over everything that had happened: her father's rage, his way of running the company, the demands of perfection, the kidnappings she had heard of, the deaths, the bloody messages from the White Fang, everything. Weiss stared at her hands. Her mother's face flashed before her eyes. Weiss' fists clenched and tears formed. The Schnee heiress blinked them away. She thought about what Winston had said. If Cheshire had indeed spoken out against the White Fang, maybe he was different. Her mind flashed through his characteristics: the claws, tail, ears, and eyes. Weiss had never seen a faunus that had so many animalistic traits. Each one was a blatant reminder that he was a faunus.

Weiss knew that, given his abilities, Cheshire could have easily stolen everything she owned and set it on fire, just as she had accidentally done. Instead he merely tried to prove a point. Weiss watched as the sun sunk below the horizon. Her thoughts were muddled. For the first time in a long time Weiss questioned her actions and thoughts.

When she went back to her room, Weiss pulled Ruby aside.

"What did you want to talk about Weiss?"

"What do you think of Cheshire?"

Ruby tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Could he be right?" Weiss continued, not giving Ruby a chance to speak. "Have I been unfair?"

Ruby shrugged. "I haven't met many faunus. But, outside of the yelling, Cheshire has a point. We did burn down his house. I mean he is an apprentice now, but what if he wasn't offered an apprenticeship? He wouldn't have a place to live."

Weiss hadn't thought of that.

Ruby continued, "He could have attacked us too. You saw him hold the Nevermore in place. Cheshire is obviously very strong. I don't even know what he did to stop the Deathstalker. I wonder if it is an Aura technique from his village."

Weiss frowned. "What do you think I should do?"

Ruby blinked. Weiss was asking her for advice. "Well, I think he just wants an apology. I don't think he wants to fight."

Weiss sat back. "Thanks Ruby."

* * *

The next afternoon, as Harry sat down to grade the papers Port had given him, he tried to see things from Weiss' point of view. He had been nothing but antagonistic towards her, not really giving her a chance to stop being on the defensive and apologize. Her reaction yesterday at the very end was not what he expected. It had been bothering him all last night and this morning.

"Cheshire, what is on your mind?"

"Sorry Peter, it's just I'm realizing that I have been a jerk to someone who probably doesn't completely deserve it. It's not nice to look at your actions and say that you knew better but didn't act that way."

Port looked across the desk. "So why did you?"

Harry thought for another long moment. "This person reminds me of someone who always antagonized me, berated me, and took every opportunity to publicly belittle me. They just reinforced the rumors I heard. But their final actions have me thinking that the rumors might not fully be true in regards to this person."

Peter toyed with his mustache. The staff had heard about the rather vocal argument between Cheshire and Weiss Schnee. "Are you taking your anger out on this person on someone who doesn't deserve it?"

Harry nodded. "I think I am. I need to apologize."

Peter smiled. "Then you will do so as soon as we are done for the day. If you don't, I'm afraid that your next session with me will be very difficult indeed."

Peter watched as his apprentice's face began to clear and the young man turned back to the papers. He was surprised when the faunus pulled out his scroll in the middle of reading a paper and typed in a few notes with an odd look on his face.

"Cheshire?"

With a shake of his head, he replied, "Just an idea. Although why I never thought of it before, I don't know." Harry grinned. "If it works out, it will be extremely beneficial."

After Harry spent an hour or two helping Professor Port grade papers, the pair left to go to the training grounds. Port had his blunderbuss and looked happy. Harry's face was apprehensive. Given their conversation they had earlier, he felt that he had reason to be anxious.

At the end of the training session, Harry had a few cuts to go along with his bruises. Harry surprised Port by launching a fireball at him during their exchanges. Port retaliated with a 'small' blast from his blunderbuss. Harry was glad he could jump so high. While he was airborne, Harry almost succeeded in wrapping the chain from his weapon around the gun. Port grabbed it and pulled him out of the air with it.

Once Harry hit the ground, Port called a halt. They had a visitor.

Weiss Schnee was standing off to the side and had watched the fight. She had to admit that she would be hard pressed to keep up with the cat faunus. And he wasn't using his Semblance.

Port turned to the white haired girl. "Can I help you Miss Schnee?"

Weiss shook her head. "I'm sorry for interrupting. I need to talk to Cheshire." She had to admit, the boy had a defined torso. Both fighters' shirts were open. She tried to not look at Professor Port.

Harry crossed his arms. "What do you want to talk about?"

Weiss blurted out, "You were right, and I was wrong. I'm sorry. It was an accident, but it is my fault. I acted like a brat."

Harry nodded.

Weiss continued. "If you want, I'll help buy what you need to rebuild your house.

Harry looked at Weiss. "Why the change of heart?"

Weiss glanced at Professor Port. "I'm trying to be a better person. What you said at lunch helped me to see that I've been… unreasonable."

Port smiled. "Miss Schnee. It takes quite a bit of strength to realize you were wrong. It takes even more to admit it to others."

Harry nodded again. "We'll discuss it later. I'm going to be talking with Ruby about possible weapon designs in a few days. I accept your apology. I hope you will accept mine as well. You weren't the only one being unreasonable. I was too. I apologize for my attitude and making you think that all of your possessions had been burned. I haven't been the most level headed either. Even if I thought it was a necessary cruelty, it was still cruel. Your attitude reminded me of someone who I disliked from the moment I met him. If you add in all the rumors I've heard about your family, I assumed the worst. I'm sorry too. What happened was an accident. You didn't want to turn your new teammate into a Ruby roast. Besides, you couldn't know that someone was living in a Grimm infested forest."

Weiss blinked. She hadn't expected that. At all. She had prepared herself for a self-righteous tirade and gloating.

Port smiled. "Cheshire. I think it's time to pick up where we left off."

Harry nodded and faced off against Port once again.

* * *

When Weiss went back to her room to work on her homework, she sat at her desk in shock.

Ruby looked worried. "Is everything okay Weiss?"

Weiss shook her head to clear it. "I saw Cheshire sparring with Professor Port and apologized. He admitted that he had been overly confrontational and apologized as well for his actions. I wasn't expecting that."

Ruby spoke up, "Why?"

Weiss looked at her books. "I thought he would lord it over me, not admit that he was in the wrong as well. I didn't expect that to happen."

Yang spoke up, "You were that distracted over an apology?"

Weiss shook her head in response.

Blake spoke up, "Then why were you shocked?"

Weiss said, "He made a fireball out of enough Dust to light a candle." Her tone was a mix of denial and amazement.

Eyebrows rose.

Yang was doubtful. "You sure you saw it right?"

Weiss gave the girl a light glare. "As a Schnee, I have received extensive training in Dust usage in both the raw form and crystals. Cheshire only had a very slight dusting on his fingers. I only saw a few grains of red instead of a light coating on his fingers. He threw a fireball that was bigger than my head. That should have only produced enough flame to light a candle."

Yang, the most familiar with Flame Dust, thought for a moment. "In theory it should be possible, but I've never seen anyone do that."

Weiss opened her book. "I don't even want to think about what he could do with a handful."

Yang's inner pyro caused the blonde girl to grin.

* * *

Once Harry collapsed on his bed, a knock echoed from the door. He groaned and stood again.

When he answered it, Glynda was standing there. "Professor Ozpin would like to speak with you."

Harry nodded and followed. He may be in his pajamas, but it must be important.

As they walked, Harry said, "What made you the angriest about Team MPLE being tied up? I figured you would find them when you got back to your quarters."

Glynda's eyebrow twitched. "Two of them tried to proposition me."

Harry winced. "How are they still at Beacon?"

Glynda glanced at the faunus. "What do you mean?"

Harry blinked. "You are the strictest person here at Beacon, hands down. I have noticed that you only have feelings for Ozpin, so that was probably highly offensive. I'm curious how Team MPLE wasn't expelled."

Goodwitch huffed. "They blamed you and said you used some kind of Aura technique against them to make them say things."

Harry shook his head. "The only thing I did was give them some rather solid blows to the head. Unless a kick counts as an Aura technique, I didn't use any."

Goodwitch frowned slightly. She hated been lied to. MPLE would soon find themselves under scrutiny.

Ozpin was standing behind his desk, sipping on his ever-present mug. The gears in the ceiling rotated with almost silent motion. Ozpin turned. "Cheshire. I want to thank you for seeing me so late."

Harry shrugged it off. "Not a problem."

Ozpin sat across from Harry and stared at him. "I wanted to talk to you about your training. You have taken to Dust usage with a great deal of skill."

Harry shrugged. "I've read extensively on the subject. One of the books even suggested amounts to use for various effects. The author was wrong. It was too much."

Glynda's trimmed eyebrow rose.

Ozpin nodded. "That is what I thought. You learned in two hours what takes most students weeks to accomplish. However I must admit, the reactions that you got from Dust are more...energetic than most. When I saw you take a small pinch; that was sufficient for what I asked. Instead, you had a fire that was far larger than normal Dust usage would allow. Only a few people throughout history have been able to get such an energetic reaction. Glynda is one of them."

Harry was surprised by that.

Ozpin looked at his apprentice. "Where did you learn your Aura manipulation? No school in Vytal has record of a student such as you. It is clearly not your Semblance and is likely as versatile as glyphs. I am curious if it was a product of your training or something else."

Harry sat back. "Only a few people know this. If I tell you, I expect it to be held in the confidence of only the people in this room."

Ozpin nodded and after a moment Glynda followed suit.

"This will likely be difficult to believe. On the island where I grew up, there is no Grimm, no Dust. I hadn't seen a Grimm until I arrived in the Emerald Forest or Dust until I arrived in Vale. There was an…accident that took me to the forest. I realized a few days after I arrived that there is no way home. Where I am from, there is a small portion of the population that can manipulate internal energies in a way similar to Aura. When I got here, I had my Aura unlocked. Because I already had training in manipulating inner energies, a lot of the Aura manipulation was easy for me. I can duplicate some of the techniques with Aura, but some of the 'Aura manipulation' that you have seen is simply me using my own internal energy."

Ozpin sat back in shock. He shared several glances with Glynda. After a moment of contemplation, he addressed his apprentice, "Let's say for a moment I believe you. How many people could use energy that way?"

Harry shrugged. "I heard it was about one in five hundred thousand. It has a tendency to run in families, but would crop up with no previous history from time to time."

Glynda looked cautiously at Ozpin. "My grandmother was the same as I am. It is feasible." She thought for another moment. "Given the frequency it appears with, it might be the same."

Ozpin looked at Harry. "Do all faunus look like you back there?"

Harry shook his head. He wasn't going to tell Ozpin that there was no such thing as faunus in England. "Best I can figure it is a side effect of the accident that took me to the Emerald Forest. Before you ask, I don't like talking about it. There were people who wanted to do some particularly bad things to me. The accident allowed me to escape. Living here is better than my life was back where I came from."

Ozpin nodded, it appeared that faunus were discriminated against even in a place such as where Cheshire came from. "While I am sure you have only told us what you are comfortable sharing, I want to thank you." He glanced at Glynda. "Once he has the basics down, I am going to be having him learn some advanced Dust spells. As that is your area of expertise, can I have him ask you questions I can't answer?"

Glynda thought for a moment. "If he teaches me his invisibility trick, I'll consider it."

Harry smirked. "We'll see if you can learn everything it takes to be able to pull that off. It's not exactly the easiest thing to do." Ignoring the fact that Glynda might not even be able to do so, Harry yawned. "If you don't have any more questions, I would like to get some sleep."

Ozpin nodded and Cheshire turned to leave.

Glynda spoke up, "Cheshire, can I ask what is your Semblance?"

The faunus nodded. "You can."

Ozpin hid a grin as Glynda was forced to outright ask. "So what is it?"

Cheshire merely smiled before he faded from view. "I don't really know. I only have a guess about it myself." The door to the elevator opened and closed moments later.

Once Glynda shook off her shock, she looked at Ozpin. "Could that be how Amber had her abilities stolen?"

Ozpin nodded gravely. "It is entirely feasible. You both are very gifted in Dust Usage and Aura manipulation. If our enemy were to learn of Cheshire's abilities, they would likely stop at nothing until they could do as he does. It would be wise to keep this to ourselves." Ozpin took a sip from his mug. "It might be best to see if you can learn how to do that as well Glynda."

Glynda nodded sharply.

Ozpin mused, "Given the enthusiastic reaction to it, I wonder what would happen if he infused his body with Dust."

Glynda blinked at the possibilities.

 **AN: I didn't want it to come across as bashing Weiss. It is just she clearly has issues with Faunus because of everything she has seen and heard the White Fang do to the company and people she knows. Not to mention what she said about her childhood because of her father, and his reaction to the White Fang attacks. Since Cheshire has several animalistic traits it's a little worse than her usual disapproval of most faunus. Harry has also heard a LOT of negative things about the Schnee in general, and Weiss' behavior didn't help matters. Hopefully this chapter clears that up.**


End file.
